Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers sacked Pedro Caixinha in October.
Daniel Candeias has suggested to The Sunday Post that he believes Pedro Caixinha’s failure at Rangers can be traced back to their ‘catastrophic’ Europa League campaign.
Rangers finished third in the Scottish Premiership last season to secure a return of European football to Ibrox.
But it was very shortlived as Caixinha’s side were eliminated in the first round of qualifiers by Progres Niederkorn of Luxembourg, who overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to win the tie 2-1.
Such an embarrassing defeat meant that the Portuguese manager was under pressure before a ball was kicked in the domestic season, and the 47-year-old was sacked in October after a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock.
Canedeias was among a host of foreign players who Caixinha signed last summer, and one of the few who remains a big player for the Gers, with Carlos Pena, Dalcio and Eduardo Herrera flopping big time, whereas Bruno Alves hasn’t been a roaring success either.
And the Portuguese winger, a £700,000 signing, claims that he never felt as if his future at Ibrox was at risk in spite of Caixinha’s departure, which he attributes to the “catastrophe” of what happened in Europe.
He told The Sunday Post: “I have a contract with the club, not Pedro. My heart is with Rangers, not the coach.
“I wasn’t worried any more than any of the other players when the coach left. The coach left because of the results. What happened in the Europa League was a catastrophe.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
